SCHOLARSHIPS

You can say that this is just what aerospace medicine is all about – to save the lives of the men who climb to the high reaches above the Earth and beyond this planet.
Martin CaidinAviation and Space Medicine, 1962

2016 Scholarship Winners

Jeffrey R. Davis Scholarship Winner

Michael Lapelusa

The Space Medicine Association Jeffrey R. Davis Scholarship was established to encourage students, who have demonstrated academic achievement and shown an interest in Space Biology and Space Medical Operations, to further pursue a career in Space Medicine. This year’s scholarship is presented to Michael Lapelusa. Michael received a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May of 2015.

Michael has worked at NASA Johnson Space Center for the past several years, first as an intern with the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health program, where he helped define the occurrence of cerebrovascular accidents in the NASA astronaut population and developed a software tool to modify radiologic images. This past year, Michael has worked in the Microbiology Laboratory at NASA Johnson Space Center. His work involved characterizing the dose response profile of modeled microgravity-cultured Staphylococcus aureus to the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37.

This March, Michael will travel to Australia on a six-week Endeavour fellowship to conduct research in the aviation medicine unit at Monash University in Melbourne. He plans to attend medical school this fall. In discussing Michael’s qualifications, one of his mentors wrote the following, “Michael is exactly the type of young scholar who exemplifies the characteristics necessary to be highly successful in the pursuit of a medical degree with an emphasis in aerospace medicine.”

Wyle Scholarship Winner

Rahul Suresh,
M.D., M.S.

The Space Medicine Association Wyle Scholarship was established in honor of Robert Ellis to encourage students, who have demonstrated academic achievement and have shown an interest in Space Biology and Space Medical Operations (e.g., biomedical engineering, space flight physiology, human factors research, nursing, psychology, safety, life sciences, etc.) to further pursue a career in Space Medicine. This year’s scholarship is presented to Rahul Suresh, M.D., M.S. Dr. Suresh received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude with distinction in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University and his medical doctorate from Mayo Medical School. He has also completed a Master of Science degree in Clinical and Translational Research from Mayo Graduate School. Dr. Suresh is currently enrolled as a second-year resident with the UTMB/NASA Aerospace/Internal Medicine Residency Program.

During his time in residency, Dr. Suresh has been very active in research, working on projects related to the Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure Syndrome as well as developing recommendations for commercial airline passengers with insulin-dependent diabetes. He is also an active member of the Space Medicine Association, serving as website developer for the commercial spaceflight section. As stated in one of his recommendations, “I have no doubt he will be a great asset to the future of our field.”